Subject: Re: [LPNY DISCUSS] Natural Monopolies: Apple Pies & Telephones 
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 12:40:48 -0500
To:        <lpny_discuss@yahoogroups.com>
From:     Bob Armstrong <bob@cosy.com>

PS :  I forgot to mention : Of course our per minute costs=
 particularly
      for long lines , which was AT&T's main monopoly which MCI=
 broke 
      are much cheaper now . However , many of us have multiple=
 phones
      and services including wireless and DSL which have=
 substantially
      increased the role of communications in our lives . 

      But the big item which has increased is taxes and=
 regulatory fees
      which add 25% or more to the bill you pay .

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 12:29:54 -0500, Bob Armstrong wrote:
>
>=A0AT&T was very much a government created monopoly . And then=
 broken
>=A0up in a contrived uneconomic partition =A0which has not survived=
 .
>=A0( See http://cosy.com/views/liberty/Junt9805.htm for bits of=
 trivia . )
>
>=A0The supreme natural monopoly is the State itself which defines=
 real
>=A0property rights in the geographical region it controls and=
 defends by
>=A0unlimited force against other similar monopolies controling=
 other regions .
>
>=A0On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 00:55:39 -0500, Gary Popkin wrote:
>=A0>=A0>From: WTurtleNY@aol.com
>=A0>=A0>I'm so old, I remember when we had a natural monopoly that=
 no longer
>=A0>=A0>exists:
>=A0>=A0>the phone company. =A0Somehow, in my dotage, I recall charges=
 being lower
>=A0>=A0>than what I pay today. =A0Did "forced" competition help the=
 process or would we
>=A0>=A0>still have all the innovations we enjoy today ?
>=A0>
>=A0>=A0I don't know whether the old Ma Bell was a natural monopoly=
 or one enforced
>=A0>=A0by government. =A0Further, I never bother with facts, such as=
 those that would
>=A0>=A0tell us about the relative costs of phone service before and=
 after, and why
>=A0>=A0those costs have arisen. =A0I prefer to stick to theory; it's=
 much cleaner.
>
>=A0--=A0
>=A0=A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864
>=A0Computing Environment : =A0http://CoSy.com/CoSy/
>=A0A WTC vision : http://CoSy.com/CoSy/ConicAllConnect/
>
>=A0Liberty : http://CoSy.com/Liberty.htm
>=A0Restore our Right to Relax :
>=A0=A0http://ny.lp.org/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?Against_the_Smoking_Ban
>=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A02003/11/29 11:59:38 AM
>
>
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--=A0
=A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864
Computing Environment : =A0http://CoSy.com/CoSy/
A WTC vision : http://CoSy.com/CoSy/ConicAllConnect/

Liberty : http://CoSy.com/Liberty.htm
Restore our Right to Relax :
=A0http://ny.lp.org/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?Against_the_Smoking_Ban
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A011/29/2003 12:34:26 PM